In addition to the right selection and adjustment of the prosthesis, the successful provision of a prosthesis for a patient depends to a large extent on the cooperation of the patient and the patient's acceptance of the prosthesis. A technically refined prosthesis does not fulfill its purpose if it is not accepted by the prosthesis wearer, or if it is used incorrectly. Accordingly, it is important for the patient to understand the set up and the function of the prosthesis, and to be aware of the consequences of incorrect handling or setting. Furthermore, prostheses have to be adapted to the individual requirements and circumstances of the prosthesis wearer. To this end, it is important to determine an optimal prosthesis set up for the patient, that is to say the adjustment of the prosthesis components to one another and to the human body, to obtain a sufficiently stable set up and/or high dynamic mobility. An individually adjusted set up of the prosthesis is important, particularly in the case of knee prostheses.
In the display system disclosed in EP 0 663 181 A2, a prosthesis wearer stands on a measurement plate equipped with pressure sensors. The center of gravity of the body of the prosthesis wearer is determined by means of the pressure sensors. The body-gravity line is projected onto the human body using a laser projection unit which generates a vertical, linear light beam. The position of the body-gravity line is adjusted by moving the laser projection unit along a linear guide.
Using this system, the center-of-gravity line of the body can be determined very well with respect to the positions of the joints. Likewise, the measurement data can be conversely determined by particular joints being approached by the projection line so that an appropriate measure can be determined from the traversed path of the laser projection unit.
The prosthesis set up is adjusted by a prosthesist on the basis of the determined body-gravity line and requires some experience. Occasionally the patient does not know why a particular setting is chosen. This can lead to problems with the acceptance.